Of course I know it doesn't come close to the original film. I saw it years ago and didn't think much of it. Then a few years later I bought it on DVD as part of a set along with LEPRECHAUN and two of David Cronenberg's movies RABID and SHIVERS. When I revisited CARNIVAL OF SOULS the plot made a little more sense. But when I read the reviews on it's IMDb web page I noticed that this film was somewhat misunderstood.1. Like in the beginning of the film where Alex (Bobbie Phillips) drives her car into the ocean with Louis (Larry Miller) the man responsible for her mother's murder in the backseat. Right after this scene the film cuts to Alex waking up in her bathtub. Many seemed to have assumed she dreamed about the crash but that is not the case. When the film cuts to this scene it actually goes back a few days meaning Alex didn't dream about the crash it happened a few days later.2. There is another scene where Alex goes to see a psychiatrist and she talks to him like they've had several sessions together. But the psychiatrist reveals that he has never met Alex before. This is representative of the reality setting in of what really happened after that crash that took place which would lead us to the final revelation or the big twist ending. Of course at one point Alex is shown climbing out of the ocean and on to the pier she drove off where she sees the abandoned carnival grounds. In fact this is really Alex's soul climbing out of the water and on to the pier. The whole part between the crash and the twist at the end is really what we think is reality that slowly turns into what is actual reality.This is how I understand or interpreted it. CARNIVAL OF SOULS is really a thinking man's horror movie. You have to pay close attention to certain parts of the dialog to grasp what certain phrases actually refer to. Many plot elements are not presented in a very straightforward manner so it requires a long attention to figure out the plot.Overall, it's not the worst film I've endured. I also agree that the original is way better. But since this film strayed from the original I didn't really try to make comparisons.There is also an unofficial German remake entitled YELLA which is also better. and had it been an official remake it would be considered the more faithful of the two.

Carnival of Souls (1996)* (out of 4) Worthless remake of the 1962 film has a young girl seeing a man brutally murder her mother. This man just happened to play a clown at the local circus and years later the girl, now an adult (Bobbie Phillips), begins to be haunted by visions of him. I'm not one who is against remakes as I usually like seeing how a different artist puts their spin on a familiar story. This remake only borrows a few elements from the original film with writer-director Adam Grossman making up the rest on his own. What he added is pretty silly stuff and it's really a shame because I think a straight remake could have been much better. The entire subplot dealing with the pedophile clown just adds up to nothing in the end and if you are familiar with the original then the biggest twists are already going to be known. While watching the film I couldn't help but think that perhaps the director's original story might have been a good one but at the same time you can just tell that it wasn't getting on film. The entire movie is meant to make one wonder about what's really going on but you never really have this happen because it's just so poorly made and executed that you really don't care. Another major problem is that the film lacks any real atmosphere and there's certainly no scares to be had. Even what murders are in the film are all forgettable and in the end you really start to wonder what the point of the film was. Phillips offers up a fine performance but sadly she isn't given much to work with. Larry Miller plays the clown and to say his role is weak would be an understatement. The beautiful Shawnee Smith appears briefly but she too is wasted. Wes Craven served as Executive Producer but it seems he was just cashing a paycheck and not really paying attention to anything that was going on the screen.

carnival of souls what an insult to the original 1962 masterpiece this film is rotten to the core about as interesting as watching Anne Robinson on the weakest link, the film should have been canned before its release its sad they could not have remade a sequel to the 1962 original as you are gripped by that films scary scenes as no other movie does. I'm not going to waste my time here talking about crap like this I've put my copy of it on the drawer away not to be seen ever again. Don't WATCH IT as its trash so go out and buy carnival of souls sit back late one evening on your own no lights on and be ready to be scared out of your life i love the original movie it cant be beaten unlike this garbage movie, whats up with Herc Harvey he directed the 1962 original why has he made this movie that is rubbish cant he go back to the original idea and bring our friend from 1962 back to scare us to death once more? the more i look at carnival of souls 1998 the more shocked i am that Herc Harvey could churn out garbage like this why the hell didn't he make a sequel to the 1962 masterpiece? there are awful movies this one is the pits. CARNIVAL OF SOULS 1998 YOU ARE THE WEAKEST LINK MOVIE.................GOODBIE! -9999,9999,9999,9999,9999.

I think that this is without a doubt the worst movie i have ever seen Whatever happened to the Nightmare On Elm St brilliance? Freddy is the king!!. I can honestly say that there is nothing at all worthwhile about this movie. Sorta creepy in a way but only for a short while. I have never turned off a movie before the end ever .. until now Wat was Wes Craven doing at the time i will never know - in fact I'm starting to think he didn't direct it at all - Not with the brilliance of Freddy Kruger could he achieve this masterpiece of crap Risk watching it if u are incredibly bored and even then i still wouldn't watch it